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IOWA CITY, Iowa – Season openers aren’t supposed to be this challenging, nerve-racking or bizarre.

Typically, the first Saturday of the college football season at Kinnick Stadium has more of a scrimmage feel, not a last-second finish that had one Iowa fan yelling on his cell phone afterward, “I can’t believe we won this game. We sure didn’t deserve to.”

Normally, Iowa’s offensive starters are on the sideline with a towel draped on their shoulder watching the second- and third-stringers finish out the contest, not on their knees praying for a miracle.

Usually, Iowa eases into its season with runaway wins. From a 51-0 pasting of Kent State eight years ago to a 46-3 romp over Maine last season, the Hawkeyes haven’t had a home opener decided by less than three touchdowns in nine years.

And even though the University of Northern Iowa is a top-five program in the Football Championship Subdivision, 22nd-ranked Iowa was a 24 1/2-point favorite Saturday. This was slated to be another early- or middle-round knockout.

Instead, it turned out to be a 12-round bout, and it could be argued the better team on the field lost the fight.

The Hawkeyes prevailed 17-16, but they needed to block two Billy Hallgren field goal attempts from 40 and 41 yards, respectively, in the final seven seconds to escape.

UNI won all the telling statistics – total yards (354 to 329), time of possession (31:56 to 27:59), fewer turnovers (one versus two) and more quarterback sacks (four to two).

“I think we outplayed them across the board,” said UNI coach Mark Farley, whose program was a kick away from knocking off Iowa for the first time in 101 years.

“We should have won that thing hands down.”

It was nearly Appalachian State all over again.

Appalachian State, another FCS power, went into the Big House two seasons ago and upset Michigan to send shockwaves through the college football universe.

“It felt a little bit like Appalachian State towards the end,” said Iowa defensive lineman Broderick Binns, who blocked the first of two field goals in the waning seconds.

Improbably, UNI received a second chance thanks to an NCAA rule that had many of the players and reporters in the press box scratching their heads afterward.

UNI attempted its first kick on first down. Once it was blocked, the ball didn’t cross the line of scrimmage (Iowa’s 23-yard line), meaning it was live.

Iowa had a chance to recover it and end the game, but Iowa linebacker Jeremiha Hunter and others purposely avoided it.

“We’re coached to stay away from kicks that are blocked,” Iowa linebacker Pat Angerer said.

Meanwhile, UNI tight end Ryan Mahaffey pounced on it and, by rule, the clock stops when the offense regains possession.

So after officials reviewed it, they determined one second remained in the game.

Hallgren had another opportunity to be a hero, but Hunter swatted it away with his right hand to conclude a bizarre finish.

“We weren’t even lined up the way we were supposed to be lined up,” Hunter said.

It had Iowa’s head coach even breathing a sigh of relief.

“I doubt there is a person in the stadium that’s ever seen anything like that on TV or in person,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “It’s just a bizarre deal, and we are very fortunate.”

One blocked kick is not out of the ordinary, but how about two in succession – particularly for a program that has never blocked more than two kicks in a game?

“It’s like hitting green on a roulette wheel two times in a row,” Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi noted. “That’s what I thought of right away. It doesn’t happen very often.”

The same can be said about Iowa experiencing a nail-biting finish in its home opener.

If Saturday was Iowa’s clunker for September, the Hawkeyes should feel fortunate and move on. If there is another stinker or two to follow, there’s cause for concern.

“Hey, we won the game, and that’s all it’s going to say on the stat sheet,” Stanzi said. “There’s no doubt we have some things we need to work on.”

Stanzi was off the mark at times, the running game was hit-and-miss and even though it was missing two starters from the offensive line, Iowa’s pass protection was spotty.

The defense performed much better, but it did allow UNI to march 91 yards in 8 1/2 minutes for a touchdown in the first half, and then 69 yards when the game was on the line in the final minute.

“The tape will reveal a lot, but there are a lot of things today that we couldn’t convert or couldn’t get done that a lot of times will cost you a game,” Ferentz said. “Quite frankly, (UNI) was better than us most of the game.”